Current Museum Exhibition

The exhibition displays men’s and women’s clothing from 1780 to 1825 in a dozen period rooms throughout the museum. It considers how Americans fashioned a new identity through costume; on the one hand, Americans sought to be free from Europe, yet they still relied heavily on European manufacturing and materials.

Yes, the DAR Library has subscriptions to several electronic databases. They are American Ancestors (NEHGS), Ancestry Library Edition, Find My Past, Fold3.com, HeritageQuest, Early American Newspapers, and others. The DAR Library also has an extensive Manuscript Collection, Family Files, charts, maps, microfilm and microfiche, CD-ROMS, and periodicals. The DAR Library does not provide remote access to any of these databases or materials. For more information about the DAR Library click here.

Q: Does the DAR have my family's history on file?

A:

Your family's history might be found in the DAR Library, which has over 25,000 compiled and published family histories available for research. In addition to published family histories, the library's collection includes county records and histories, Bible records, cemetery records, birth, marriage, and death records, military rosters, census records, and a variety of other published materials to assist researchers in compiling their own family histories. For more information about the DAR Library click here.

Q: My great aunt was a member of the DAR. May I see her records?

A:

In the interest of promoting genealogical research and to assist prospective applicants, NSDAR allows access to its archived member applications. These records can be viewed at the Seimes Technology Center of the DAR Library and copies and may be obtained electronically through our website at a cost of $10 or by mail at a cost of $15. It should be noted that access to DAR records is limited for private research usage only. Records may not be requested for re-publication or public exposure. In addition to the application, the accompanying "proof documents" used to prove the link between each generation in the lineage and to prove the type of patriotic service for the application process are also be available for viewing on site in the Library's Seimes Technology Center or for purchase electronically through the Genealogical Research System (GRS). Please note, there may not be documentation on file for every patriot. For more information about the DAR Library click here.

Q: Is the Ancestor search feature of the online Genealogical Research System (GRS) a complete listing of patriots from the Revolutionary War?

A:

No, it is a composite of only those patriots whose descendants have joined the DAR. The GRS databases, are kept up-to-date on a daily basis with new patriots being added, or current patriot records being updated, as new applications and supplemental applications are verified. For more information about the DAR Library click here.

Q: Does DAR have a list of every person who fought in the Revolution?

A:

No, because record keeping varied from state to state, there is no complete list of every soldier/sailor who served during the American Revolutionary War. The DAR Library does have lists of soldiers/sailors/etc. from the original colonies and other subsequent states, however these lists vary widely in the type of information recorded for each soldier. Some include birth, death, marriage dates, place of residence, and a lengthy description of service. Others are simply lists of names. For more information about the DAR Library click here.

Q: Are all of the books in the library on the Revolutionary War period?

A:

No, while books on the Revolution are obviously important to the Library, they constitute only a part of the approximately 220,000 books in the collection. The focus of the Library is American history and genealogy. Towards those ends, the Library collects books that will help patrons trace their lineage. Consequently, visitors to the Library will find books of cemetery records, tax records, probate records, marriages, and births. The DAR Library's collection covers all four centuries of American history. For more information about the DAR Library click here.

Q: If a book is in the DAR Library, can it be used for DAR applications or supplementals?

A:

The DAR Library collects materials based on its Collections Development policy. It is impossible to fact check every detail in every book in any library, thusly, the Office of the Registrar General does not accept materials found in the Library based solely on the fact that they are included in the Library’s collections. Nevertheless, materials are retained because they may provide clues to researchers for further avenues of research.